


Look Who’s Laughing Now

by Stinobear



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Period-Typical Homophobia, Slow Burn, Steve Harrington Has PTSD, not really ambiguous but yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27657524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stinobear/pseuds/Stinobear
Summary: Billy Hargrove wasn’t always King. He used to be the peasant. The dirt beneath the expensive shoes of the Californian royalty he had never been apart of.That changed when he moved to Hawkins. He was going to be the new King. Even if it meant stepping over Steve Harrington’s pretty face to get there.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 24
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by “Billy” by Lauv. So I recommend listening to that so you get the feel of what I’m trying to go for here.
> 
> Also I just wanted to try a new fic since it’s almost Christmas and the last time I did a fic around Christmas it went smashingly and I’m in need of that validation again haha.

Contrary to popular belief, Billy Hargrove was actually really smart. Since starting school early at 5 and a half, he would be a top achiever in his grade. He even skipped fourth grade.

Being the smartest kid had it’s setbacks. He wasn’t particularly popular and not many people knew him further than seeing his brace- faced smiles in the so-called “nerds section” of the yearbook. Even after getting his braces out, he still didn’t win with the California crowd. They were too superficial. Only cared about looks. No one cared about his grades. All they saw was a poor boy with ill fitting clothes who didn’t match the Californian look they all had.

No one would have believed that now though. Since leaving California, he had reinvented himself. He’d taken the opportunity of being a small town where no one knew him to create a new persona. The first time he got 100% on an English essay at Hawkins High, he’d gone up to the teacher and threatened her if she ever told anyone. He didn’t want to be the old Billy. Old Billy from California would have been bullied for being a nerd. For not having money. For dreaming of being a sailor or an astronaut. 

So, as soon as he realised that they were moving, he started working out more, grew out his hair, practiced flirting with the girls from a town over who didn’t know about his loser past. The more muscle he picked up, the more attention he got. 

When he found a beat up Camaro in the scrapyard, he knew he had to take it and fix it up. Made it look good. He only knew how to do that because his dad had forced him to learn. His dad couldn’t handle having a smart son. A son that actually knew more than him. He tried to beat it out of him. Told him that if anyone saw his nerd son walking around with his nose stuck in a book, they’d call him a faggot. 

They never called a faggot, only his dad did. But it didn’t mean it didn’t make an impression. Under the frumpy shirts he found in Salvation Army bins, he worked on his body, told himself that if he looked better, his dad would stop calling him a faggot. Stop squeezing his face while spitting filth at Billy for smiling at a boy.

When Billy started wearing tighter clothes, he had expected his dad to be glad about it. He looked like a man now, all muscle and sarcastic smirks. It didn’t work. Neil would find a way to attack him. One time he’d pulled Billy’s shirt so hard that the first few buttons popped off. Billy started wearing shirts without buttoning them up all the way. Started making out with girls in open spaces where he knew news would get back to his dad. 

What people didn’t know was that Billy had known that they’d have to leave Cali soon. The bruises on Billy’s body were starting to become more and more noticeable that even in a city where no one knew each other, whispers were starting. The few people that did know the Hargroves were talking amongst themselves. Billy knew eventually they’d have to leave, find a new place for him to hide bruises in. For months before they had left, Billy had started preparing himself. He was going to be different this time. He was going to be the kind of man that Neil couldn’t touch. Wouldn’t touch. Didn’t want to touch. 

From the moment he had stepped out of his Camaro on his first day at Hawkins High School, he had channeled a person he’d never been before. He took all that energy that had been directed at him back home and threw it at the new town he had entered. He had on a shirt that showed off his skin, golden from the California sun, looking so much brighter than the pale faced Indiana locals who gawked at him. He wasn’t just another nerdy kid in California here. No, here he was a King. All he had to do was secure his turf. 

It was easy to do. He’d long since learnt that girls turned to mush when he smiled. Even at his most nerdy, there were always a few girls who liked “hot nerdy Billy”. So he grinned at the first pretty girl to walk past him. He scouted out the area before walking into the hallway. He wasn’t arrogant enough to believe that he could just take the crown from whatever small town kid was currently wearing it. He just knew how small towns reacted to new things. And he was the shiniest, newest thing in town. 

He was ready to be the next King.

Then he met Steve


	2. Chapter 2

“King Steve”

“Pretty Boy”

“Princess”

Steve gritted his teeth. Ever since the new guy came into town he did nothing but taunt Steve. It didn’t matter to him that Steve wasn’t interested in his bullshit. It didn’t matter that Steve couldn’t give two shits about Billy being the new King. Billy just kept coming back to annoy him even after making it clear that he had no interest in staying King of Hawkins fucking Indiana. 

“Leave me alone, man. I’m just tryna get to class.” Steve said, turning around to glare at the boy who had been following him around for the last 5 minutes. Billy didn’t really ever talk to him. Just kinda lingered around him. Trying to intimidate him or something.

“Why, Pretty Boy, that’s no way to greet an old friend.” Billy responded, grinning at him, tongue poking out between his teeth. 

“Are we friends, Hargrove?” Steve asked, rolling his eyes. “You sure have a funny way of showing it.” 

“Aw, baby, you want me to treat you nicely? That’s what you want? Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll be real nice to you.” Billy said. Steve knew it was in jest but, fuck if he didn’t actually want Billy to be nice to him. He had no part of Billy’s new reign of the school and, besides, Steve was too tired of high school politics to care. 

“You don’t have to be nice to me, Hargrove. Just stop fucking stalking me. I get it, you’re the new king or whatever. I. Don’t. Care. Take the goddamn title and leave me alone.” Steve said before turning on his heel and walking away as fast as he could without straight up running. He wasn’t scared of Billy per se. He’d fought real demons and won. He just didn’t feel like knowing what Billy would do if he’d stayed.

When it was clear that Billy wasn’t going to run after him, his shoulders sagged. Okay, maybe he had been a little scared. But who could blame him? Billy looked like someone who knew where to throw a punch to really make it hurt. 

Steve ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated what to do next. His next class had Billy sitting right in front of him. He didn’t think Billy would try anything in front of a teacher but, geez, sometimes Billy reminded him of a feral animal. He was just so unpredictable. Some days he’d let things go, others he’d escalate situations that didn’t have to be escalated. 

Billy was wild. And Steve wasn’t sure he was up for the ride. 

As Steve made the trek back to class, he took a moment to look around at the rest of the school. While there was hesitation, the crowds still parted slightly to let him through. He wanted to laugh. He wasn’t king anymore but clearly there was still a level of respect that he commanded. It wasn’t like before though. Before, Steve would have been surrounded by girls by the time he’d stepped into the school yard. No one would have had to part to let him through because the school just naturally opened up for him. Like he was a model and the school was his runway. 

He kept his eyes forward, breathing deeply as he contemplated everything. He knew Billy was going for him because he saw exactly what Steve saw. A town desperate for their king. 

Sure, Steve had been dethroned. But he was sure by the whispers and the slight sense of reverence he still commanded from his classmates, that if he had to decide to take up the mantle once again, he’d be welcomed. Maybe not by Tommy and Carol, but there were still some guys from basketball who looked like they’d stick with him. 

But…

Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to be king of a town made of monsters that seemed to come straight out of the stupid games the Party would play. He didn’t want to be noticed. He didn’t want to be seen. 

If people paid too much attention they’d realise that it was all an act. He couldn’t strut down the hallways (and yes, he knew he was strutting, sue him, he’d been the king) with that cocksure smile and sunglasses that made everyone nervous when they came up to him because they couldn’t tell if Steve was actually looking at them or not. He couldn’t throw parties to cover up the silence of not having his parents around. He couldn’t pretend that he wanted it. That he was actually glad that his parents weren’t around to give a fuck about the girl that died in their pool. Or their son who had bags under his eyes because he wasn’t sleeping, too fucked in the head from all the shit he’d gone through.

He was too tired to pretend that everything was fine because it wasn’t. It hadn’t been since Barb drowned in his pool. It hadn’t been since he’d had to look in the eye of the ugliest fucking creature in the world. Steve knew that even in his worst nightmares he would never have been able to conjure up a shitshow as terrifying as real life. 

So yeah, maybe Steve was perfectly fine just sitting around and waiting to graduate so he could get the fuck out of that town


	3. Chapter 3

Billy slipped up sometimes. He’d get a little too soft around the edges. Sometimes when Tommy patted him on the back, he’d melt just a little. Too starved for attention. He used to get touched a lot more back home. The few friends he did have were affectionate types. Constantly touching him. 

He forgot he didn’t do that here. Found his hands lingering too long on his teammates when he helped them back up after a particularly rough shove. 

So he learnt to counteract it. Hide the mistakes he’d made with snarls and biting words. 

It didn’t seem to work on Steve Harrington. Steve just looked at him, eyes squinting slightly like he was trying to figure Billy out. It made him itch. Make him want to be nice to Steve. 

He knew he couldn’t though. Not here. Not when the town was small enough that it had taken him an afternoon before people starting moving out of his way when he entered the grocery store three streets from his house. His reputation clearly preceding him even though he’d built it overnight. Already the moms of the town were batting eyelashes at him while their husbands scowled at him. The town was just too easy.

So when he found Steve alone one day behind the bleachers, smoking with shaky hands, he wanted to sit down. Share the cigarette with the pretty boy with the sad eyes. So he did. Had to hold himself back from actually being nice. He plopped down, taking out his own cigarette, not saying a word to Steve as he held his hand out for the lighter.

Steve merely grunted, rolling his eyes before pulling out his lighter and lighting the cigarette in Billy’s hand. Billy’s breathe caught in his chest. He hadn’t expected him to light it for him. Expected Steve to throw the lighter at him or refuse to give it at all. 

He looked at Steve from the corner of his eye as he moved the cigarette towards his mouth. Steve was watching him. Eyes watching intently as the cigarette glowed as Billy pulled. Almost made him choke at the intensity of his gaze. He took the cigarette out of his mouth to grind his teeth together. To stop himself from saying something. He didn’t know what.

Steve seemed to come out of whatever trance he’d been in, eyes widening as he realised he’d been staring at Billy. Coughed awkwardly before turning his head to look in front of him. Billy’s hand fisted on his side. The side Steve couldn’t see. He also turned his head. Away from Steve. Looking anywhere else.

They finished smoking in the same silence they had started with. Steve getting up from the floor with a shuddering breath. 

“Well, Hargrove. Always a pleasure.” Steve gritted out. He looked just a little lost. Like he didn’t know if he should even say anything.

“Likewise, pretty boy.” Billy replied, still sitting on the floor. 

It seemed to annoy Steve when he said stuff like that. It’s why he kept doing it. He huffed a laugh as Steve rolled his eyes before turning away and walking out from under the bleacher. His shoulders were hunched. Billy often felt like Steve looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. 

It annoyed him. To know that the former king of Hawkins had the same sad look that Billy had when no one was looking. The privileged pretty boy with the eyes of someone who had gone through as much shit as Billy.

It pissed him off actually. What did Steve Harrington have to be sad about? With his big house and a town that still worshipped the ground he walked on. 

It scared Billy. Because for all the talk of Billy being the new King, he knew that Steve could easily take his throne back. It was pretty clear that all he had to do was say the word and all of Billy’s carefully constructed plans would be ended. 

But if Billy had to think about it, it wasn’t even the tentative line he was scared about. What scared him was the fact that it was clear that something had happened to Steve. Something that had made him lose his interest in the town. 

That’s what he was scared about. That the stupid town that felt just a little too quiet at night might have it’s own secrets. That maybe there were monsters far bigger than his father. Bigger than Billy who was faking his way to the top. Bigger than the fake smiles the girls in the town gave him with their chests pushed out just a bit. Than the pats of Billy’s back from the boys in the town that were just a little too hard. Like a reminder that he still hadn’t fully won them over yet. 

He got up, Steve long gone. And walked out. He winked at the group of girls sitting near the bleachers, grinning when they giggled. He’d clearly won the girls over already. It was funny. Billy had realised long ago that girls weren’t exactly his preference. It was easier to test that out in Cali. He’d had enough time to explore that part of himself. 

He couldn’t do that here.

So he made his way to the girls, leaning against the wall near them. 

“Hey ladies, what are you doing this side?” Billy grinned. He knew what they’d hear. They were sitting too far from the school to pretend they were supposed to be there. 

They giggled before the one girl,(Rachel?) answered. “It’s a bit too crowded that side. Just wanted a little space.” 

It was clear that she was the leader. Once she’d spoken, the next girl spoke too. “What are you doing here? All alone.” She said the last part softer. 

“Just went for a smoke.” 

Rachel spoke again. “Where you off to now?”

“Back to class, sweetheart. Can only skip that many classes.” Billy waggled his tongue.

Rachel grinned, shifting to the side. “You can always join us?” She moved a little more, leaving just enough space for Billy to squeeze in between her and the wall she was pressed against. 

His eyes caught hers. He grinned. “Maybe next time.” He took a minute to look her up and down slowly, tongue sticking out just a bit. 

“See you around.” He winked and walked away. He knew better than to get tangled up with one of them. Give a girl too much attention and they start expecting things. Things Billy couldn’t give them. He just flirted, winked and grinned at them. Never getting too close.

Never too close.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve Harrington was truly alone.

He knew he was being dramatic by saying it but since his breakup with Nancy, Steve had been lonelier than he’d ever been. And that included the time his parents simply never came home for a month during Christmas and all his friends had gone away for the holidays. There was something about knowing that there weren’t many people thinking about him as they went about their day that made him just a little depressed.

If this had happened to him a year ago he would have thrown a party and let himself drown under the attention of people who he only barely knew. He didn’t need to know him. He’d only ever needed them to know him. He wanted them to see him. 

These days it was the last thing he wanted.

Not that he would have gotten it anyway. After the disaster of a Halloween party where Hargrove had taken his keg king title, he knew he probably would have to grovel for an invite to another party. Who wanted to party with the fallen king? No one. That’s who. 

So yeah. Steve was lonely. And so very alone. He’d taken to having his lunch behind the bleachers after feeling humiliated by the idea of sitting with Nancy and Jonathan, especially since it was clear that there was something going on with them. As much as he had fallen from grace, he still had his pride. And his pride would never allow him to sit with his ex-girlfriend and her new guy. 

So Steve was sat under the bleachers, biting into the peanut sandwich he’d made himself before leaving the house. He was alone. No one came to look for him and he hadn’t particularly expected them to. 

Which was why he was surprised when he saw movement next to him. He turned to see Billy Hargrove frowning at him, cigarette in hand. Billy probably wasn’t as alone as him. He was certainly not starved for attention.

“Harrington.” Billy said in a low voice. He seemed to debate something before sliding his legs down so he was sat next to Steve. Still far enough that it couldn’t be considered joining him. He was clearly just sitting in the same area as Steve. 

“Hargrove.” Steve sighed. He could only hope Billy didn’t say anything about Steve sitting alone eating his lunch. 

Billy didn’t. He just took out his lighter and lit his cigarette. They sat in silence for long enough for Steve to reconsider his decision to stay sitting there. He should have gotten up, not let Billy sit down next to him (not next to him, near him, perhaps). He wasn’t sure why Billy hadn’t taken the opportunity to be an asshole when he found Steve and suddenly Steve realised that he should maybe not stick around long enough for Billy to decide to do that. 

He was about to get up when Billy suddenly stuck his hand towards Steve. In his hand was the half smoked cigarette that had just been in Billy’s mouth. Steve was confused. Was Billy offering him a smoke? 

Steve just looked up at him and back to the cigarette. Billy turned to glare at him.

“What? King Steve too good to share a smoke with me?” Billy said, hand already starting to retreat.

“No!” Steve started. He grabbed the cigarette from Billy’s hand before it was too late. He flushed at the urgency in his voice. What the fuck was wrong with him? Was he really that desperate for attention that he’d just run to share a smoke with the worlds biggest douchebag?

Billy took a second before seemed to understand what had just happened. The frown on his face smoothed out into a smirk. Steve burned with the embarrassment. Billy noticed it, his smirk fading slightly before he stuck his tongue out in thought. Billy did that a lot. Stuck out his tongue for everything. Rolled it like he couldn’t go more than five minutes without the world looking at it. 

“Well, princess, maybe not that good huh?” Billy asked. He was still looking at Steve with eyes that were analyzing just a little too hard. 

“Ask around, Hargrove. Being good hasn’t really been my thing.” Steve replied.

Billy’s eyes darkened at that. 

“No? You still seem like a good guy though. I’ve been waiting a long time to see the big bad King of Hawkins. Guess you got soft.” Billy said. He kept eye contact with Steve as he said it. Steve wanted to look away and also keep staring into Billy’s eyes. Which, wow, what a thought. He quickly pushed that aside in favour of answering him. 

“It’s not hard to be big in a town so small.” Steve replied, a little too honestly. He wanted to take it back. He should have just been sarcastic about it.

Billy laughed. “Fair point, Harrington.” 

He turned back to face his front. Effectively ending the conversation. Steve racked his brain to think of a way to continue the conversation but found himself stumped. What did Billy even talk to people about? Probably about himself. Bragging about stealing the crown off the uninterested head of Steve Harrington. Talking about how charming he was with his stupidly blue eyes and stupid grin.

Steve got up suddenly. The need to be away from Billy suddenly growing. What was that about? Thinking about Billy like that? 

He picked up his bag, quickly moving towards the end of the bleachers. He gave a barely there nod in Billy’s direction before stalking off. He didn’t know where he was going but he just knew he had to get away from Billy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I could say I will be consistent with the updates but that’s not true, you just gotta wait for the exciting little notification that the fic was updated. Thanks for reading though!


	5. Chapter 5

Things were getting really weird after the strange conversation he had with Steve which had ended in Steve basically running away.

Since then Steve started avoiding him. More than before. And Billy could tell it wasn’t in the way that Steve had avoided him before. Steve used to avoid him to avoid Billy’s persistent pestering. Yeah, he knew he had been annoying so he could let that slide.

But now Steve was avoiding him in the kind of way that made Billy think it wasn’t actually about him. Nowadays when Steve spotted Billy, he’s eyes would go wide before he would dash off before Billy could catch up. He used to look at Billy like he was preparing for a fight. Not anymore. 

So, sue him, he wanted to know what was up. After their little chat, Billy had kind of expected them to reach an sort of agreement. Billy wasn’t particularly in the mood to go off at Steve as much anymore and figured he’d just treat Steve the way he treated all the other guys. He was starting to realize that fighting for Steve’s crown was getting kind of pointless when Steve was running around looking like a lost puppy with no interest in being found. 

He figured they were starting to patch things up. He wanted to get to the point where he could ask Steve about the sudden intensity of the bags under his eyes or how Max was doing since he saw that she’d taken a liking to the boys that followed Steve around. Or how Nancy and Jonathan seemed to have forced their way back into his corner with them constantly being seen whispering to each other as if they had some big secret.

Billy wondered if Steve was with them now. Getting back with Nancy didn’t surprise him but he wondered if Steve was with Jonathan like that too. They all seemed to stare at each other a little too intensely for Billy to think they didn’t have something going on.

And, boy, was that a thought. Steve Harrington, being with a guy. Even one as weird and scrawny as Jonathan. Almost laughable honestly. Steve basically screamed straight in everything he did. But he couldn’t deny the fact that Jonathan and Steve looked really cozy. Too cozy.

He contemplated all this as he laid in his bed. His cock twitched at the idea of Steve being with another guy. He knew Steve was attractive. Hell, even if he didn’t like men, he’d have to admit that Steve was really fucking pretty. 

“Fuck.” Billy swore at the ceiling of his room. He’d said it quite softly because his dad was home and, depending on his mood, it was probably not a good idea to have his dad reminded of his existence. His dad hadn’t bothered him in ages but he wasn’t going to rock the boat. 

He thought back to earlier that day when he told Max to stay away from the black kid she was hanging out with. His dad had many issues, mostly with Billy liking men. But one of the most prominent things that Billy had learnt long ago was that Neil Hargrove hated black people. It was fucked up. California had been very progressive but there were still those bubbles where people who shared Neil’s ideas came together to sneer at the idea of black people walking around in the same neighborhood as him. 

Truth was, Billy wasn’t a monster. Neil was. But Billy had learnt by now that the only way to avoid Neil’s monstrosities, was to become like Neil. He might not be a monster, but he was certainly becoming one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are going to be slow coming. Turns out writing canon divergence is so difficult. How to merge the scenes from the show while also staying true to my story that I’m trying to tell??
> 
> It’s quite a short chapter because it was basically me trying to get into the canon divergence thing. I’m struggling to figure out how to write the Billy/Steve fight. Let me know how we feel about the connection between the story and the show.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve wouldn’t call Billy his friend. Friendship would have required them to be cordial more often than they actually were. But in the coming weeks, Billy and Steve would have more conversations, getting to know each other in little ways. Like how Billy licked his lips more when he was lost in thought and that Steve bit his nails when he was stressed.

The reason they couldn’t be considered friends was because they didn’t act like friends in public. Steve and Billy still shouldered past each other and whenever Billy spoke to Steve in public, he still spoke with a far more cutting tone of voice than he did in private.

Steve understood though. Billy would lose credibility by becoming friends with the guy who was pretty much his only competition and also one who had fallen to the very bottom of the social ladder. 

So yeah, they weren’t friends, but Steve still hadn’t expected Billy to beat him up at the Byers house. The moment he saw those blue eyes filled with rage, directed at him, he admitted to being shocked by it. Billy hadn’t looked at him with such anger and hatred in weeks. He had genuinely thought that they’d gotten past that part of their relationship (not relationship, Jesus, Steve, what the fuck?) 

He’d tried to lighten the mood with his “don’t cream your pants” comment but it seemed to have the opposite effect on him. The anger already shining in his eyes seemed to shoot out of him as if he didn’t have control of it. Nothing made sense that night.

The Billy he had grown to know would never accuse him of doing something to Max. The Billy he had grown to know, knew that Steve had shit to deal with that he couldn’t talk about. 

And it didn’t help that they were dealing with actual fucking problems and didn’t have time to deal with Billy’s apparent complete personality change. Billy had been angry before, but this was something that scared Steve. Suddenly, Billy wasn’t just someone he kind of considered a friend, he was cold and harsher than the very demadogs that Steve had been worrying about just moments before. 

And there was a part of Steve that had been embarrassed that Max had to be the one to rescue him. That despite the growing feelings of friendship between them, Steve still didn’t know who Billy really was. That there was a monster within him that rivaled that of the real monsters that he had faced. 

Steve’s response to the incident was… less than ideal. Despite knowing deep down that Billy had never really been his friend, something about the fact that the boy couldn’t even be amicable enough to wait long enough for Steve to come up with an excuse and immediately doubled down on Steve being some type of sexual predator preying on the kids he had promised to look after, filled him with a deep seated resentment towards the other boy. And yes, he said boy. Because Billy not being willing to listen to him spoke volumes about his maturity. 

Steve had had to grow up pretty fast after the first time the upside down became a part of his world. And he’d assumed that Billy had also had to fight his fair share of demons. But while Steve had turned that into protection of those he now considered most dear to him, Billy had clearly chosen to lash out at everyone and everything.

So, with a bruised face, Steve looked at himself in the mirror, and swore to himself, that if Billy didn’t want to play nice, he wouldn’t either. He might not be King anymore, but damned if he’d let that asshole take that place. Steve had better things to do, but he was done playing with Billy. If Billy wanted a reason to hate him. A good enough reason to justify beating him up, then damned if he wouldn’t give him that. 

And that day, as Steve walked down the school hallway with a determined look on his face, he decided that he’d take the crown right off Billy’s arrogant fucking face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’ve given up on staying true to canon. It’s too hard lmao. So we get to the part where we... thoroughly diverge from canon. I’m bad at writing this and the fact that we don’t currently have WiFi means that I am struggling to get the level of understanding I needed to have to combine canon with this story. So we’re verging into uncharted waters, friends. I can only hope that you are still willing to come along for the ride.


	7. Chapter 7

Billy didn’t often admit when he’d fucked it, but even he had to admit that something had gone terribly wrong that night. Waking up with no recollection of the previous night to see Steve bruised and glaring at Billy like he’d caused the bruises, made it pretty clear that whatever the fuck he’d done, it had been bad. No, terrible. No, absolutely the worst thing he could have done.

He remembered bits and pieces of the fight, he remembered leaving his house with a slight pang in his chest from Neil’s shake up and he remembered the first punch to Steve’s face. After that all he saw was red. And then he woke up the next morning feeling like that time he’d been drugged the first time (and last time) he’d ever gone to a gay club in Santa Monica. 

He’d been drugged. That much was clear. And it was also clear that somehow it had been Max that had drugged him. The nail on that particular coffin was that Max had done it in response to the damage Billy had already done to Steve’s pretty face. 

And damn, if Steve didn’t have a pretty face. Since they’d started talking more, Billy knew that Steve was exactly the kind of guy Billy wanted to be with. The overly generous, kind hearted way Steve carried himself made Billy want to curl up into that energy. Let Steve take care of him.

But somehow he’d managed to fuck it up. The look on Steve’s face when he first saw Billy on that Monday, followed by the way the crowds moved out of Steve’s way as if he was untouchable, proved it. 

The moment the first girl approached Steve and touched his face, Billy realised he’d lost. The sheepish look on Steve’s face was practiced, well rehearsed. He managed to look both gentle enough for the girl to feel comfortable approaching him and terrifying, like whoever had done all that damage to his face had gotten it worse. Which, considering Billy still had a headache from the fight, probably wasn’t all that untrue. 

He walked towards Steve, noting how less people moved out of his way. Noticed how everyone was too preoccupied with the silent way in which Steve had clearly came in to prove a point. 

Billy was only king because Steve had allowed him to. And the moment Billy had fucked up enough, Steve had taken back the crown. It was almost ridiculous how easily the exchange of power had happened. Steve had simply walked in as if he was King again and everyone had followed. 

“Harrington.” Billy said, stopping in front of Steve. He noted the slight flinch from Steve. He also noted how quickly he composed himself, turning lazily towards Billy, eyeing the bruises on his Billy. Bruises Billy was sure hadn’t actually been Steve’s doing. But the stories would spread. Both of them covered in bruises, Steve coming in as if he’d actually won the fight (not that Billy would admit to agreeing that he’d probably won, even if taken a little red headed girl to help him). It was calculated. Steve was going to pretend he’d beaten Billy. And if Billy had lost a fight to Steve, it meant that Steve had been trying to reclaim his throne.

“Hargrove.” Steve replied. His hand was still trailing slowly on the arm of the girl in front of him. The girl only had eyes on Steve. It was fucking insane. Just days before, that same girl had been following Billy around, practically begging for a little attention from him. 

“Funny, you’re still pretty in blue.” Billy said, clearly looking at the purple-blue bruises on his face. Billy might not have had much left but he knew how to push Steve’s buttons. And maybe if he pushed hard enough, he’d manage to push him back down. He felt bad for caring more about the crown than how Steve was feeling at that moment. He felt worse knowing that he was lying to himself. He didn’t care about the crown enough to beat Steve up. 

“Funny, I could say the opposite about you. Maybe try some concealer next time. Tammy over here was just telling me she could help me cover it up. I’m sure there’s a girl who’d be willing to help you out too. You’re still king, right?” The way Steve said it, made it clear that he didn’t actually think so. Steve wasn’t even going to fight for the crown. He was simply going to take it off Billy’s head and put it on himself. Billy was losing control of the situation. 

“Aw, you want me to look nice? I think I suit this look more than you. Then again, you must know that, considering you’re the reason I look like this. Maybe you should consider which one of us has the most damage. You have cuts, I just have shiner. Next time, you should punch harder. Maybe you’ll actually make an impact.” Billy sneered. He wasn’t proud of it. He’d wanted to get control again. He’d spent too fucking long getting to that point to back down now. Steve might not be the gigantic piece of shit he’d imagined him to be, but Billy still had a plan. And his plan did not include playing nice with Steve Harrington.

Billy simply walked away after that. He’d already down enough to get the wheels turning. Tamlyn (Tammy? Tamera?) had already gotten confirmation that there’d been a fight between the two of them. She’s also gotten confirmation that Billy didn’t believe he’d lost (but fuck he knew he had, he just couldn’t act like he had). 

Billy was conflicted. On the one hand, he wanted to apologize to Steve for the fight, but on the other hand he wanted Steve to back down. He wasn’t in the mood to fight Steve again, especially since he wasn’t entirely sure how the last one had ended. But Billy had a plan. And not even Steve Harrington’s cut lip would get him to drop it.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve’s decision to take back his place as King of Hawkins was an absolutely terrible choice. He’d known it before doing it and now he was more and more aware that he’d made a bad choice.

Firstly, Tommy seemed to have swept all their shit under a rug and gone back to following him around. Steve would have been grateful for his friendship with Tommy if it wasn’t obvious that the reason he wanted to be friends with Steve again was to stay in the top of the school hierarchy. They’d been best friends for the longest time but as soon as Steve started focusing on interests that weren’t exactly what Tommy wanted to do, things went downhill for them. The quick maneuver into Billy’s inner circle also proved that Tommy was a fucking leech. 

Secondly, Nancy seemed to be less than impressed with the revival of King Steve. How Steve saw it, the danger was finally (hopefully) over and it was time to get back to the way things used to be. And yeah, he knew in the back of his mind, that it wouldn’t work in the long run, but fuck, Steve was tired, okay? There’s only that much supernatural shit one person can take before drinking yourself numb. Nancy didn’t understand that. And why would she? She wasn’t alone, with kids for best friends and a bleak future. She had her nerd friends that she still occasionally had study group with and Jonathan and an internship at the local paper. 

Steve had nothing like that. And, as exhausting and frustrating Hawkins hierarchy was, it was a game he actually knew how to play. The only difference between the Hawkins he’d left to go chase monsters, was that Billy was there. 

Billy.

Something about how conflicted he’d looked when Steve had spoken to him in the hallway made him second guess himself. He had seemed genuinely shocked at the amount of damage he’d caused to Steve’s face. Even if he’d hidden it behind the stupid speech he’d given.

Like it or not, Billy was his competition in this. And given how the last fight had only ended at the hands of a little girl, Steve was quite wary of how things were going to go from that point on.

Steve stood under the bleachers, having a smoke, getting the little amount of privacy he could. Most of the time he was being followed around by randoms and never got a moment to himself. Especially now that Tommy and Genevieve had taken it upon themselves to chill at his house after school. He wasn’t impressed with Tommy but much less with his new girl Genevieve who got a thrill out of swimming in the pool Barb had died in. He was sure that Genevieve would have been one of those goth chicks if she wasn’t with Tommy. 

Of course, Billy would decide to go for a smoke break too. Steve decided that, for once, he was just going to ignore Billy. Billy had beat him up pretty badly so he figured he was allowed to do that. He stood in silence, smoking his cigarette, not even sneaking glances at Billy like he would have done in the past.

Billy, being an absolute fucktard, decided to ruin that.

“Stevie-boy. You not gonna ignore me the whole time are you? Too good for me now that you’ve climbed back up the ladder? Should have known King Steve wouldn’t want to share a smoke with me.” Billy taunted.

“Actually, given you beat me up last time we were alone, I think me ignoring you has nothing to do with the stupid fucking hierarchy. If you want me to talk to you, try not being an asshole. See how that works for you.” Steve replied, gritting his teeth. He wasn’t going to let Billy guilt him into talking to him after everything.

“Geez, didn’t know you were still sore about it. Could have told me. I’ve been told I’m real good at kissing boo boos.” Billy said. The tone of voice implied that he wasn’t being serious. He wasn’t planning on apologizing. 

“I’m not sore about it. I just think that if you’re gonna try to convince someone to be nice to you, then you need to actually be nice first.” Steve said, finally turning to look at Billy. Billy had a fresh bruise on his neck, as if someone had choked him. Served him right. He hoped that the other guy had managed to get a few more hits in. Maybe bruised a rib or some shit.

“Besides,” Steve continued, “those marks on your neck weren’t my doing. Since you’re so keen to be friendly with the people you get testy with, maybe go kiss his ass instead.”

Billy, who had been cocky right until that, suddenly grabbed Steve by his collar. When Steve looked into Billy’s eyes, he saw that same rage in his eyes that he’d seen that night. It wasn’t as intense but it was enough to send a shiver down his spine. 

“Oh, pretty boy, you are starting to sound a little jealous. You wanna be the only person I’m putting my hands on, do ya?” Billy spat out. 

“Oh, fuck you. You think you’re the only guy around here that punched me? You’re not that special, Hargrove. Go talk all that shit to someone who actually wants to hear it.” Steve replied, breathe catching as Billy’s hand closed tighter around his shirt, his knuckles brushing against his neck. 

Billy stepped even closer, so close that Steve could practically taste the lingering smell of cheap cigarettes and mint in Billy’s mouth. Billy’s hand moved up curling around Steve’s neck. Steve had to fight the urge to lean further back, let Billy’s hand cover his neck. What the fuck was wrong with him.

Despite his best efforts, Billy noticed the struggle, fingers tightening against Steve’s throat. His eyes fell to Steve’s lips, eyeing how they parted slightly in an attempt to catch his breathe. When Billy looked back up at Steve’s eyes, Steve almost choked. Billy’s eyes were slightly dilated, studying him. Steve wanted him to step closer. Press his body against his. He wanted to taste the mix of anger and arousal he saw in Billy’s eyes. He leaned in closer. Steve was so confused. He wanted to punch Billy but also… he wanted something else. He didn’t know what he wanted. He wanted Billy so much closer, yet he had the urge to push him away at the same time.

Billy leaned in, his lips barely brushing against Steve’s, before moving back. His eyes were completely dilated now. 

“Steve…” Billy whispered. 

Without even realizing it, Steve leaned even more forward, his lips pressing against Billy’s. Billy’s eyes widened before pressing harder. His body pressed into Steve even more. He had Steve essentially pinned against the wall. They weren’t kissing, but fuck if Steve didn’t want to. He drew in a short breathe before shifting so that his lips spotted against Billy’s. A kiss. He was kissing Billy. 

Billy didn’t move for a moment, causing Steve to come back to himself. What the fuck had he just done? Kissing Billy? What the fuck? 

Steve grabbed Billy’s shirt, pushing him slightly, hoping to get free so he could run off and, like move to a different country. Because what the actual fuck was he doing? He’d never be able to look at Billy again without thinking about how he’d kissed him. 

Steve was able to push Billy a step away, and was about to move away enough to get out from against the wall. The shove seemed to get Billy back on track and he pushed Steve back. Pressed himself even closer with a chuckle. 

“Well, Pretty Boy. Maybe I’m special after all.” And before Steve could even make sense of that, Billy kissed Steve back.


	9. Chapter 9

If anyone had ever told him that just two weeks after Steve had taken his crown back that they’d be kissing under the bleachers, Billy would have laughed, then gone home and jerked off to the idea.

But there he was, Steve pinned under him, tongue licking into Billy’s mouth. Billy wasn’t usually the gentle kind but he had the feeling Steve wouldn’t take too kindly to Billy biting his lip, to pushing just a little too hard. He didn’t want to push too hard and have Steve stop this. Whatever this was.

Steve kissed like he couldn’t decide if he wanted more or to shove Billy away from him. Billy grabbed Steve’s waist, reveling in the way it got Steve to buck up slightly. Billy wanted nothing more than to ruin him. 

He started with drawing lazy circles on Steve’s hip, causing Steve to gasp and pull on Billy’s hair. Slowly, Steve started reacting, tugging at Billy’s hair while moving his other hand to the back of Billy’s neck, moving him slightly so he could deepen the kiss. If it had been anyone else, Billy might have taken control again, but with Steve, he let him do it. They traded kisses as if they were both still trying to figure out what was actually happening.

Steve pulled back to take a breathe and Billy took it as an invitation to kiss down Steve’s neck. He licked and bit at the pale skin on Steve’s neck, going dizzy at the sounds Steve was making. He wanted to grind down on Steve, let him feel how he was affecting Billy. Wanted Steve to grind back, feel his big dick rub against his jeans. Fuck.

If he’d known that Steve would be into it, he’d do so much more. He wanted them to be somewhere more private, maybe in that stupid BMW Steve was driving around with, get the seats messy with their sweat and cum so Steve would have to clean it before he went to pick up those kids from the middle school. He wanted Steve to smell them on the seats long after it was over.

He wanted to make Steve scream his name. 

He licked a long line up Steve’s neck, pausing to nip at his chin before delving back into Steve’s mouth. It seemed Steve had gotten with the program. He kissed with more confidence this time. Like he was trying to show Billy that he actually knew what he was doing. His hands were moving more. The hand that had been on his neck travelled to the front, touching his chest and digging his nails in slightly when Billy finally bit down on his bottom lip.

“Fuck, Harg-“ Steve started when they detached long enough for Steve to finally have a word in. Billy just kissed him again, not wanting to hear what Steve was about to say. He wanted this to last as long as possible before Steve ran off on him. 

Billy shifted slightly, his thigh pressing between Steve’s legs and grinned when he felt the hardness of Steve’s dick pressing against him. He pressed in, letting Steve rub on him. Fuck. This was even better than he’d expected.

Steve rolled his hip once, a whimper falling from his lips, and fuck, Billy wanted to hear more of those sounds, he moved his mouth away from Steve’s mouth, to his ear, sucking on the skin under Steve’s ear. A breathy sound left Steve’s mouth as he grinded upwards against Billy. Billy rewarded that sound with a roll of his own hips, letting Steve know he was affected as well. Steve gasped, mumbling oh my god oh my god under his breathe. Fuck, he really wished they were alone so he could make Steve scream, make those whimpers turn into sobs as he took him apart. 

Billy grabbed Steve’s ass, digging in, causing Steve to roll his hips even more, the two of them getting into a rhythm. He wasn’t gonna last long like this. Steve’s nails dug harder into the skin, Billy letting out a groan at the feeling. 

Steve started whimpering more, choking out gasps. Billy wanted to see what Steve looked like. He tore his face away from Steve’s neck, and groaned at the way Steve’s head was thrown back. His eyes were shut tight and Billy couldn’t have that.

“You pretending I’m someone else, Stevie? Don’t wanna look at my face when I got you all flustered like this?” Billy taunted.

Steve opened his eyes slightly, looking at Billy under his lashes. Fuck, he was so pretty. His lips were swollen from the kisses and his eyes were slightly glazed over.

“You can’t stop being an asshole for even a minute can you?” Steve replied, but he sounded too out of breath to actually sound mean.

“Nah, pretty boy, I want you to watch me as I ruin you.” Billy retorted with a rough roll of his hips. Steve choked, eyes still on Billy as he fell out of rhythm. Steve looked like he was seconds away from exploding, so Billy drew his leg up just a little more. “You gonna come, rubbing yourself off on my jeans, baby? Gonna make a mess?”

Steve groaned, his hips pushing up, and his eyes started closing. Billy tutted.

“Eyes on me, pretty boy. I wanna see your face when you come in your jeans.” Billy said. He licked Steve’s mouth open again, diving into his mouth as if that would let him taste the heady sounds coming out of Steve’s mouth. 

Steve gasped, his hips stuttering against Billy’s leg and Billy felt him go taut. His nails were now digging into Billy’s shoulder hard enough that it was going to leave a mark as he came. 

Billy growled, pulling back to see as Steve’s eyes rolled back. Billy rolled harder against him, ready to come at the sight of Steve coming in his jeans. He rubbed once, twice, then buried his head into Steve’s neck as he came against Steve’s leg. 

Steve shivered as he came down from the high, his eyes still glazed over. Billy pulled back slightly, grinning at Steve as he moved closer, trying to keep Billy close. 

He gave another squeeze of Steve’s hip before fully pulling away. He gave Steve a lazy grin before letting go completely.

“Well, Stevie. Can’t say this wasn’t fun. I’m outta here. I’m not gonna sit around with cum in my jeans for the rest of the day. See ya.” Billy said, watching as Steve’s face contorted into a frown as he processed what Billy had just said. Before Steve could reply, Billy turned around and walked away. He was used to this, a quickie behind the bleachers with some fucker who would never admit to it having happened. And he was sure as hell not going to wait for Steve to realize what had happened and recoil with disgust at the fact that he’d just done some gay shit. Steve Harrington wasn’t a faggot. Not like Billy was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends, this is probably the worst smut you’ve ever read. I’m sorry. This is not a chapter I will be taking constructive criticism for because I would love to pretend I never wrote it 😂


	10. Chapter 10

Something about cumming in his jeans just for Billy to turn around and be a monumental asshole hit Steve harder than he expected. Sure, he knew Billy was a piece of shit on a good day, but he had kind of expected to be given at least a few minutes of post-orgasmic bliss before having it shattered.

Steve had stayed pressed against the wall for far too long, trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened. One minute, he was arguing with Billy, next minute they were making out and grinding against each other. Then Billy had unceremoniously left him there with wet jeans and a pang in his chest. A pang that Steve was absolutely not going to think about and analyze any further. 

He had to get out of those fucking jeans. And maybe have a drink. Then maybe he’d go punch Billy in the face for being a dickhead and leaving him alone after everything that had just happened.

Steve finally pushed away from the wall, cringing at the sticky feeling in his pants. It was so disgusting. And he’d have felt less gross about the whole thing if Billy hadn’t run off immediately after.

Steve wasn’t an idiot. He didn’t expect that Billy was gonna stick around and exchange sweet kisses and meaningless words the way he’d do with a chick. But fuck, there had to be some middle ground, right? Like a “thanks for the orgasm, Steve, see you around.” That would have made things better. Or worse. Steve couldn’t decide.

He sighed as he made his way to the parking lot. Billy’s car was already gone. He hadn’t wasted another minute with Steve. And, if Steve had to be honest with himself, it stung. But, of course, Steve was super not going to be honest with himself. 

He climbed in his car and drove out the school, pretending that the stinging feeling in his eyes was from the headache he now had. What Steve was absolutely not going to do is cry over Billy Hargrove. He just could not do that to himself. 

He went back to his house, sighing loudly in the quiet air in the gigantic house. He was alone. And, for the first time in a long time, he wished he wasn’t. 

He laid on his bed, having pushed his soiled pants off and wiping himself down as soon as he’d gotten in his room, trying to piece together exactly what had happened. He hadn’t expected to enjoy kissing Billy. But, somehow he did. And he wanted to do it more. Maybe it was just Billy. He hadn’t ever wanted to kiss a boy before. So whatever weird feelings he was feeling were only to do with Billy. That one time he watched porn with Tommy and came into his hands while his best friend came into his own… didn’t count. It’s what kids did, right?

Either way, Steve wasn’t gay. 

Neither was Billy. Even though Billy kissed like he wasn’t unsure of what he was doing. He pressed onto Steve in a way that made him think he knew what he was doing. 

And wasn’t that a thought? Billy being into guys. Doing stuff like that on the regular? Maybe back in California, he would have rubbed off against some hot surfer dude (not that Steve knew what a hot surfer dude would look like, obviously). Maybe he did more than that?

Steve couldn’t deny the shiver that the thought of Billy doing… gay stuff with other guys sent through his body. 

But he wasn’t going to get to explore it. Billy had made it clear that that had been a one time thing.

And Steve tossed and turned the whole night trying to convince himself that all he’d needed was that one time. He didn’t want a repeat.

Even if he knew in the back of his mind that he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so expect another time jump in the next chapter for pacing sake because wow I just want these two to fucking get it together. 
> 
> I got a super weird hate comment on my last fic (I Won’t Run Away) and I would appreciate it if y’all would take it easy on me with this chapter lol.


	11. Chapter 11

Billy couldn’t get Steve Harrington out of his fucking head. He’d wanted to get with Harrington since he’d first seen him and here he was, obsessing over him once again.

He’d thought he’d moved on from the stupid little crush he had on Hawkins Golden Boy. He’d known from the start that he was being an idiot pining after the straightest guy he’d ever come across. Yet, there he was. Pining again.

So he was going to do what he always did when he was pining after someone. Forget them by distracting himself with someone new. He’d found a tiny gay bar two towns over a few weeks after moving to Hawkins. It was far enough that his dad would never see him there and also close enough that he wouldn’t be left stranded in an unknown town. 

He got into his car, shifting into gear and pulling off. He was gonna go to that shithole of a bar until he found someone that made him forget the taste of Steve Harrington. 

Back in Cali when he was smaller, he attracted big men who would shove him around and make him choke on their dirty cocks. Now, with his new muscles and confidence, he was the one guys went to for that kind of thing. He couldn’t decide if he liked that more.

With bigger guys he could convince himself that it was just because they were so much bigger than him. That he just wanted someone who knew what the fuck they were doing. Now he was the one expected to take the lead. He couldn’t tell himself that he was looking for someone with more experience. He was there because he wanted to be.

As he reached the bar, he took a moment to prepare himself. Even after going to bars like this regularly back home, there was still a hint of fear that reached his chest when he went in. Fears that Neil would drunkenly stumble in here even though it definitely didn’t seem his kind of place. What if Neil suddenly liked the dingy look of the building despite scoffing every time they ever drove past a place with a similar vibe?

He eventually managed to calm himself down and get out of the car. The bouncer eyed him as he walked forward, but didn’t card him, simply nodding as he let him through.

As Billy stepped in and saw the men who turned to watch him, he felt the last of his fear disappear. This was something he knew how to do. Years of hiding in the shadows of small bars had taught him how to navigate this world. He wasn’t in constant worry that someone like Steve would be there to take attention away from him. He got to be King here without any fears.

He ordered a beer and took a moment to look through the crowd. He wanted someone that wasn’t a bitch ass like Harrington. Someone who wasn’t shy about what he wanted. Billy never knew what Steve wanted and the way he’d taken to glaring at Billy after the bleacher incident made Billy even more confused. 

Was Steve angry that Billy had made him cum? Most people would be thankful. Steve probably wouldn’t know how to be grateful if he got a step to step guide on it. And yeah, Billy was a dick to him after the whole thing but like, what did he expect? Billy to start sweet-talking him? Billy wasn’t going to stick around for him to have that dumb panic thing straight guys had when they’d realised what they’d done. 

Either way, Billy was on a mission to get Steve out of his head. He saw a few potential options but he wasn’t going to approach anyone. He wanted someone who wanted it. Wanted him. Not some shy idiot who didn’t know if he even liked guys. 

He took a swig of his beer, once he was done he’d head out to the dance floor, let go for a while before some guy approached him. Let them see him and decide if they wanted to get with him. He wasn’t going to talk to anyone who wasn’t going to put in some effort. 

He leaned against the bar, keeping eye contact with some of the guys who were checking him out. Billy was real good at being patient when he wanted something specific. 

As he got to the end of the bottle, he put the bottle down, pushing his way through sweaty bodies until he got some space to really let loose. Back in Cali, one of the things he enjoyed the most was dancing. He was good at it. Knew just how to move his hips to the beat. Even at his lamest, he still knew that it was one of the best ways to get attention that wasn’t mocking. 

A few guys danced nearer to him, clearly trying to see if he’d let them near him, he grinned at them, inviting but aloof. One guy seemed more interested than the rest and after taking a swig of his beer, he moved closer to Billy. 

“Hey.” The guy smirked up at him. Billy liked it. He knew what he was doing. He knew who he wanted. 

Billy raised an eyebrow at him before moving closer, not enough that the other guy wouldn’t have to make a move to get them closer. The guy came in closer, chest brushing Billy’s. He still had a smirk on his face. Billy grabbed his hip with one hand, letting him press against him as they moved together. This guy matched his movements, more grinding than dancing but Billy didn’t mind it. It was what he’d come for. 

They danced together for a few more songs before the other guy turned around, giving up all pretense of dancing, pressing his ass against Billy. They moved together, grinding, rubbing, pressing. Billy’s dick quickly got with the program. 

As the song ended, the other guy turned around, looked at Billy before nodding towards the bathroom. Billy grinned. Fuck yeah.

When they reached the bathroom, the other guy pushed him against the wall, kissing him. He tasted like beer and something spicy that got Billy revved up. He groaned into the guy's mouth. 

“Stall, now.” He growled as he turned to move towards the stalls. He started moving then towards one of the empty stalls, the guys still touching him, hands pressing against his hips and his chest. Just before Billy could close the door of the stall, the bathroom door swung open. And, in walked the one guy Billy would have never expected to see.

Steve Fucking Harrington.

Harrington was clearly drunk. He had a glassy look in his eyes, even as they widened when they saw Billy. The other guy was still pulling him into the stall, trying to get his attention again.

In a split second, Billy made a decision. He’d come for something specific. And damned if Harrington ruined that for him. He turned back around, letting the other guy finally pull him in and close the door. 

Despite the other guy now licking down his neck, hands roaming over his chest, Billy couldn’t focus anymore. His mind stuck on the other side of that door. He heard as the door slammed closed outside. Harrington had left. There was no reason for Billy to still be thinking about him. Never mind the swirling questions in his head about why the fuck Harrington would even be in a gay bar in the first place.

When the guys hand grabbed Billy’s dick through his jeans, Billy snapped back into focus. He wasn’t here for Harrington and whatever the fuck he’d be doing in a gay bar. He was here to get his dick sucked by this random guy in a club bathroom. He snapped his hips up, let the guy rub his hand over his dick , grinning at him.

“Well, you got your hands on it. What you gonna do about it.” He taunted. The other guy merely smirked, moving his hand up, to unbutton the jeans. Billy rolled his hips, as the guy got his hand in the jeans, grabbing his dick.

“Commando? Makes sense. I don’t think underwear even comes this big.” The man leered at Billy. And yeah, Billy had a big dick. Was it too big for underwear? No. But he sure as fuck wasn’t going to argue. 

The man pulled out Billy’s dick, before removing his hand and spitting on it. Fuck yeah, this was what he wanted.

As the guy gave Billy a handjob, Billy let his mind wander. Here he was, in a dingy club bathroom with a stranger while the guy he actually wanted was somewhere in the club, probably dancing with some other fucker. Maybe letting men twice his age buy him drinks and try to get with him. 

Billy couldn’t deny the pang of jealousy at the thought. If there was anyone in that club that Steve should be going home with, should be flirting with and dancing with, it should have been him. Instead he was in a bathroom with a guy who frankly, was squeezing just a little too tightly. The enthusiasm that Billy had previously enjoyed, soured now. Suddenly Billy wanted nothing to do with the guy with his hand in his dick. He could almost laugh at how quickly his dick responded to that, softening in the strangers hand. Fuck. Fuck Harrington for ruining this for him. 

The other guy made a sound as he noticed Billy’s dick softening. Billy rolled his eyes. 

“Jesus, I’ve gotten better hand jobs behind gas stations.” Billy scoffed. It wasn’t true but damned if Billy was going to admit that he wasn’t interested because the guy wasn’t Steve. 

The man frowned, pulling his hand away.

“Asshole.” He said as he shifted to open the door. “Maybe I’d do a better job if the dick was actually worth it.

Which was a funny thought. Just moments before the guy was practically drooling for his dick. Whatever. At least the guy was gone.

He tucked himself back in, stepping out of the bathroom. He needed another drink. And maybe to find Harrington. 

He found Steve at the bar, glaring at a beer bottle in his hand and pointedly ignoring the guy next to him who was trying to talk to him. 

He squeezed himself in between the guy and Steve. The guy made an annoyed sound but Billy ignored it. He didn’t give a fuck. He was either gonna talk to Harrington or the guy was gonna hit him. Either way, he was in the mood. For a fuck or a fight. Hell, maybe Harrington would be the one to start that fight.

“What you doing here, pretty boy?” Billy asked, making sure to have his back to the other guy. In the corner of his eye he saw how the guy grabbed onto the edge of the bar before scoffing and walking away. 

Okay, so not a fight. Not with that guy.

“None of your business, Hargrove. You seemed a bit busy just now, don’t tell me it only took that long for you to get off?” Steve replied, eyes still on the bottle. It pissed Billy off. 

“Oh, baby, you know as well as anyone how long it takes me to get off. He just didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. I like them better when they’re more desperate for it. Want them drooling over it.” Billy leered. He knew he was being an idiot by goading him. He didn’t care. If Steve wasn’t going to give him attention, he’d get it another way. 

“Glad to know you’re still an asshole even outside Hawkins.” Steve replied with a roll of his eyes and a swig of his beer.

“Speaking of, you never answered my question, princess. What the fuck are you doing in a place like this? Didn’t think you were the type.” Billy said, eyeing Steve as he finally turned to him.

“And what type is that? Is there only a specific type of guy that can come to a bar like this? Want me to prove I’m allowed to be here? What are you? The cops? Get off my back, Hargrove. I’m allowed to be here just as much as you.” Steve snarked back. 

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t think you’re the kind of frequent places like this. Don’t you have a yacht party to go to?” 

“If I went to a yacht party, I wouldn’t get what I came here for.” Steve said. He’d turned back to his bottle.

“And what exactly would that be?” Billy asked, he felt his blood rushing back down. Steve had basically admitted to coming to a gay bar for a reason. He wasn’t saying some shit like he’d gotten lost, or he hadn’t known what kind of place this was. Steve Harrington had willingly walked into a gay bar.

“Maybe I wanted to know what it was like to cum when the guy doesn’t run off like a bitch after.” Steve replied with a tilt of his head. He looked at Billy with a challenge in his eyes.

“You calling me a bitch, Harrington?” Billy spat out. 

“You’re the one who ran off. I think that makes you a bitch. You ran off like a bitch, Hargrove. If the shoe fits…” Steve said. 

“Oh, what would you have liked me to do, princess? Cuddle on the fucking dirt under the bleachers? Whisper about how pretty you were, baby? I could do that, you know. Tell you how pretty you looked with your lips swollen. You sounded real pretty too. Kept making these breathy sounds like you couldn’t get enough of it. That what you wanted, Harrington? Wanted me to tell you how good you were?” Billy leaned in as he spoke, until he was whispering in Steve’s ear, he poked his tongue out to flick Steve’s earlobe while he spoke, reveling in the shiver that ran down Steve’s back at the action.

“If you want me to be nice, baby, then just say it. I can be real fucking nice.” Billy whispered.

“Could have fooled me. You want me to believe that  _ you  _ have the capacity to not be a raging dick? Go back to that guy you were with in the bathroom. Maybe you’ll have better luck convincing him.” Steve spat out, pulling away from Billy. He couldn’t have that.

“What’s that? You jealous, baby? You wish it was you I was dragging into the bathroom. I didn’t even touch your dick last time. That what you want? Want me to be real nice and make you cum again, this time with my hands? We can do that right now. I’ll take you to the bathroom right now and make you feel like I’m the nicest guy alive.” Billy taunted. 

Steve turned to face him fully. Billy could see how Steve’s eyes had dilated. He was breathing harsher. Fuck. He wanted it. 

“I-“ Steve started. But Billy wouldn’t let him talk. No way. If Steve wanted him to blow him right now in the middle of the bar, he would. He just had to get his hands on him again. 

“Come with me, Stevie. I’ll treat you real nice.” Billy whispered, so close to Steve’s face that his lips brushed Steve’s as he spoke. He stepped back before walking off. For a second, his heart stopped, until he heard Steve swear and follow him. 

He was gonna be real nice to Steve. And maybe he could finally fuck him out of his head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I suck at writing smut. Never gonna do that again.
> 
> Also me: writes more smut 
> 
> I wish nameless guy best of luck in his life since that was harsh, sorry, man I made up in my head.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve was an idiot. An absolute fucking idiot with zero brain cells. If he had any common sense he wouldn’t have gone to that bathroom with Billy. And he would have absolutely not invited him to go back to his place after Billy had made him cum. He wanted to blame his cum-addled brain for it.

But then it kept happening. Billy started pulling him into empty classrooms to make out. Sometimes Billy would give him a look then moments later they’d be the school bathroom with Steve on his knees sucking Billy’s sick.

Turned out he liked sucking dick. A lot. Sometimes he didn't even need Billy to get him off. He’d get off just fine with Billy’s dick in his mouth and his hand down his own pants.

Not that Billy being the one to get him off didn’t have its own merits. Oh, boy, did it have its own merits. While Steve was new to the whole being with a guy thing, Billy clearly knew what he was doing. The first time Billy had deepthroated him, he’d seen stars. 

It was weird being with Billy like that because outside of those events, Billy had taken to not even acknowledging Steve in public. Before, Billy would do anything to get Steve’s attention. Now, he just shoved past Steve like he didn’t even know him. Didn’t know what he looked like when he came.

Steve understood. It wasn’t as if they could admit what they were doing. It wasn’t as if they were dating. Hell, the idea was laughable.

Billy still wasn’t nearly nice enough to him to convince him that this was anything more than a way for him to get his rocks off. 

He never stayed too long afterwards. Just buttoned his pants up again and left with a wink. It was better than what Billy had done behind the bleachers but still, Steve felt a pang every time Billy left him alone. 

But he pushed past it. He wasn’t going to pretend that Billy was ever going to cuddle and treat him nicely. Plus, Steve wasn’t even like, actually gay. He couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. It was just sex for him. 

Until it wasn’t.

Steve had been in bed, pretending that he was going to sleep even though he knew that he’d probably just have nightmares about the upside down even though there was no sign of any upside down business. It was quiet in Hawkins. Not a monster in sight. 

As he laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, he heard someone knocking on his door. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was 2am. Who the fuck would be at his doors. Unless.

Shit, what if it was the kids, here to tell him that Will was sick again or El was having visions again? What if all that upside down bullshit wasn’t actually over? 

He rushed down the stairs, barely taking a moment to put on a gown in his haste. It was getting warmer, summer drawing nearer, but it was still fucking cold at night. The perfect breeding ground for demagorgons to exist.

Out of breathe, he opened the door, probably using far too much force, with how it swung and hit the wall as it opened.

“What happened? Is Will al-“ Steve halted as he saw who was actually at his door. Not a gaggle of kids who had to grow up too fast. No. It was Billy. Billy with a black eye and bloody nose. 

The shock of it was enough to render Steve speechless. He just stared at the boy in front of him, who was glaring at him from the one eye that was able to open.

“Well, Harrington, are you just gonna stare or are you gonna let me in?” Billy asked. Harrington. Billy hadn’t called him that in a long time. He’d taken to exclusively using pet names like princess or pretty boy whenever he was talking to Steve. 

Not that that was important.

No. What was important was the way Billy slurred as he said it. And the wince when he tried to shift from one foot to another. Billy was hurt. Badly.

“Shit! Sorry. Come in. You know where the bathroom is. I… I’ll go get the first aid kit.” Steve stuttered, moving out of the way, eyeing how Billy winced as he walked past him. Billy was practically dragging his one leg as he walked. Was his leg broken? What happened? Why did he come here? 

After finding the first aid kit he walked into the bathroom to find Billy sitting on the floor, back against the bathtub, head tilted back in pain. He cleared his throat to let Billy know he was in the room. Billy merely opened his eyes a sliver before closing them again, not even acknowledging Steve, which, fine, he clearly was in a lot of pain. 

Steve got on his knees in front of Billy, touching his face gently. Billy groaned at the light touch and Steve couldn’t help but rub his thumb against Billy’s swollen jaw. Whoever had beat Billy up had done a thorough job. Almost every part of Billy’s face was tender to the touch. He didn’t even want to imagine what he’d find when he got his shirt off. 

Steve lightly started cleaning his wounds, careful not to hurt Billy more than he already was. It was hard, every time Billy winced, Steve wanted to clench his fist, go punch whoever did this to him. Billy was basically incoherent besides the few grunts he made when Steve pressed on a particularly deep cut. 

“Pretty boy…” Billy slurred when he was done, thumb rubbing over Billy’s jaw.

“It’s okay, Billy, let me take care of you, okay? I’m gonna take your shirt off now, okay baby?” Steve whispered, as if speaking louder would break the careful tension building in the room. Steve had never really seen Billy vulnerable like this and he wanted to stare, take in his face when he wasn’t smirking or sneering. 

As Steve unbuttoned Billy’s shirt, Billy’s eyes opened just a bit, just watching him. Watching as Steve’s eyes widened as he exposed more of the wounds. 

“Shit, Billy, who the fuck did this? I just, fuck.” Steve swore. He had to let go of Billy to press his fists against his thigh, to calm down. Billy just had to say the word and Steve would get up right now and fuck up whoever did this. 

Billy tensed up. “Does’n ma’er” 

“Bullshit, it matters. I’ll kill them. Whoever it was. Just tell me who and as soon as I got you patched up, I’ll go fuck him up.” Steve said through his clenched jaw.

Billy laughed, stopping to wince and cough. His ribs. Fuck. Steve was seeing red. 

“Baby, don worry” Billy slurred. “Just clean me up.” 

Steve didn’t move, still fuming. So stuck in his own rage that he almost missed the whispered  _ please  _ coming from Billy’s lips.

Fuck. Billy never asked for anything. Ever. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Billy say please before. 

“Fuck, Billy, okay. Okay, ima get you cleaned up okay baby? Then I’ll get you some painkillers and get you in bed. Don’t try to argue with me, okay. You’re not going anywhere like this.” Steve snapped back into focus, grabbing the antiseptic and wiping the blood of Billy’s chest. He had to take steadying breaths when he noticed the obvious boot mark over Billy’s ribs. What the fuck had happened?

Billy saw the way Steve was looking at the bruise on his ribs and slurred: “He doe’nt always hit so bad. My fault.” 

“Who? Who doesn’t always hit so bad? Billy, what the fuck are you talking about?” Steve asked.

“My fault. Didn’t do the dish’s” Billy slurred out. 

“The dish- Billy who are you talking about?” Steve tried to understand what Billy was saying. Who would beat Billy up for not doing the &dishes? Unless? No way. No fucking way.

Billy seemed to realize what he was saying, coming out of the daze in time to see Steve piece the puzzle together. Billy’s dad. Billy’s dad did this to him. Other times when Billy had walked around with unexplainable bruises started making sense. Whenever he’d beat up a guy from school, everyone always knew about it. The times when he had a limp but no story to back it up came back to Steve like a slap in the face. Suddenly the anger that had retreated into the back of his head, came rushing forward.

“I’ll kill him. I’m gonna fucking kill him. I’m gonna kill him then bring him back so Hop can kill him too. I’m telling you, Hop would love that. Doesn’t take shit like that. I promise, Billy, he’ll get your dad for this. He won’t even know what’s coming-“ Steve started ranting, staring at the bruises, hand clenched around the cloth he was using to wipe Billy down.

“Steve, no, can’t.” Billy said, his voice getting pitchy. Like he was scared.

“Why not? I’ll go right now, I’ll get Hop right the fuck now and we’ll go beat that piece of shit up. I’ll kill him, Billy. I swear to god.” 

Billy winced as he tried to move forward, grabbing Steve’s hand, unclenching it from the cloth.

“Is not worth it, Steve. Drop it.” Billy gritted out, just the slight movement filling voice with pain. 

“Like hell it’s not worth it.” Steve muttered, staring at his hand, where Billy had opened his hand up and let the cloth drop between them. Billy was still holding his hand. His thumb running circles on the side of Steve’s hand. 

“Come on, Stevie, finish up and let me go sleep. Drop it.” Billy said, looking at Steve with a pleading face that made the fire in Steve’s stomach die out. Yeah, Billy was right. He needed to look after Billy right now. Get Billy cleaned up and patched up so he could take his meds and go sleep. Whatever he would or would not do to Billy’s dad wasn’t important right now. He took a shaky breath as he nodded, more to himself. He’d worry about all that shit later. Right now, Billy needed him and Steve had quickly realized he wasn’t in the habit of denying Billy anything. 


	13. Chapter 13

For all his talk of being King, some days Billy still felt like the dirt under everyone’s shoes. There were days where he felt like he couldn’t keep up the farce. Days when he knew he was faking it, and he thought everyone else could see it too. 

The way Steve looked at him when he finally woke up made him feel like this was one of those days. The pity and righteous anger in Steve’s face made him feel like Steve finally got to the core of him. That he’d finally seen the scared boy that Billy truly was. Here, in that moment, Billy wasn’t the rival King, he was a boy that got beat up by his father and ran with his tail between his legs to the true King, Steve. 

And he knew that Steve was the rightful person to hold that title. There was nothing fake about the way he navigated life. He  _ knew  _ he was better than any of the idiots in that town. Billy was simply pretending. And now Steve had gotten to see him without the performance. 

Billy would never admit it out loud, but he was scared. Scared that the only reason Steve kept letting him in was because he liked the version of Billy that he’d gotten to see. That he wouldn’t care about the Billy in his bed right now, bruised and broken.

“Hey, Billy.” Steve said, on his side where he’d been staring at Billy for the last few minutes. His eyes were searching his face for something. Billy didn’t know what. 

“Hey, Stevie.” Billy croaked out. He needed water. He felt as if his tongue was stuck. His mouth was dry. Steve was gonna send him on his merry way now. 

Steve frowned before realising something, turning over to grab something off the bedside table behind him. A glass of water. He didn’t let Billy hold the glass, simply shaking his head when Billy tried to take the glass from him, tilting it until Billy was drinking from it. Like some fucking invalid. 

Billy wanted to be angry. To grit his teeth and tell Steve where he could shove his pity but the words refused to come out. Steve was still looking at him, probably saw the anger in his face. Before, Steve would have flinched. He still did that even after they started doing whatever it was they were doing. Whenever Billy got angry around him, it was like a switch went off on Steve and suddenly they stopped being Billy and Steve. He could only watch as Steve would go inside himself at that point and Billy always knew that it was over. Whatever they were doing was done. He’d have to try again tomorrow. Be extra nice to Steve to coax him back out of his shell. 

Steve didn’t flinch this time though.

Billy wasn’t surprised at that. How can someone be scared of a kid who gets beat up by his dad? How could Steve still be scared of him when it was clear that all of it was just Billy pretending?

“Tabitha, the lady who comes and cleans here, she made us breakfast. I didn’t know if you were up for the walk down so I brought it up with me. I ate already. She always does this. Makes sure I eat as soon as she comes in. Some days I think the only meal I remember to eat is breakfast because she’s always here to make sure I eat.” Steve said, voice going sheepish towards the end. He cleared his throat and got off the bed, picking up the tray with Billy’s breakfast and moving over to the side of the bed that Billy was on to place the tray gingerly on his lap. 

He stayed next to Billy, awkwardly until Billy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Steve bit his lip, looking indecisive. 

“Yes?” Billy finally asked. Steve cleared his throat again. 

“I’m gonna do something and the only reason I’m gonna do it is coz I know you have hot food on your lap and you still have enough drugs in your system that you probably couldn’t punch me for it. And I would really appreciate if you didn’t punch me for this, okay?” Steve said, almost stumbling over his words in his haste to get it out. 

Billy simply frowned at him. What the fuck did he want to do? What would usually get him punched? He really didn’t know what Steve was about to do.

Before Billy could fully process Steve’s words, Steve had laid a hand gently on Billy’s jaw. He moved closer to Billy, eyes searching for something in Billy’s eyes, before looking down at Billy’s lips. Steve locked his lips, muttering a soft  _ seriously, please don’t punch me  _ before laying the gentlest kiss Billy had ever gotten on his lips. Steve stayed with his lips pressed against Billy’s lips for a few more seconds. Billy didn’t want to punch him for it, no, but he also didn’t have the energy to do what he really wanted, which was pull Steve even closer, deepen the kiss. Steve finally pulled away, opening his eyes to look at Billy. 

Billy probably had a gobsmacked look on his face. Steve stayed merely inches away from him for a moment before smiling softly and moving away.

“Uhm, yeah, thanks for not punching me, I guess. I, Uhm, yeah. I’m gonna go? Gonna… yeah, let you eat your breakfast. I’m gonna Uhm, fetch you some clean clothes from my room. Uhm, yeah, yeah.” Steve stuttered. As he was about to leave, Billy finally responded.

“You didn’t give me a chance to kiss you back, pretty boy.” 

Steve stopped in his tracks, turning back to Billy with wide eyes. He looked so shocked that Billy felt embarrassed for him. Like, come on, Billy didn’t think he was being particularly obvious about his feelings for Steve but surely Steve knew Billy would want to kiss him, right? 

Steve bit his lip, a blush appearing on his cheeks, spreading as he walked back to Billy. He stopped in front of Billy, looking down at his lips, before kissing him again. This time, Billy was prepared, pushing into the kiss, let Steve know that he wanted it. Wanted to be kissing him. God, he wanted to kiss Steve all the fucking time. Not just before they fucked around, all the time. 

He wanted to be able to kiss Steve like this again and again and again. Because he loved him. Fuck, he loved this stupid boy who kept coming back to him even after treating him like shit. He loved this idiot who kept forgiving him and looking at Billy as if Billy wasn’t the worst thing on the planet.

Like Billy wasn’t a monster.

Like Billy was someone worth Steve’s time.

He thought back to the previous night and how angry Steve had gotten. How he’d been willing to go fight for Billy even before knowing who had done it. As if he would face nameless monsters for Billy. As if he wanted to keep Billy safe.

And Billy thought that, even if Steve didn’t love him yet, he’d spend the rest of his days proving to Steve that he loved Steve. Until, one day, Steve might love him too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this count as an ambiguous ending if we know Steve loves him too even if he hasn’t said it yet? 
> 
> Either way, thanks for reading. I’m feeling good about ending this fic here. Let me know how you feel about it!


End file.
